Given the remote nature of shipping, seafarers know that their life may sometimes depend on at-hand practical information readily available during the first crucial moments after an on board medical emergency arises. Medical guidance covering illness, injuries and other health issues needs to be readily available as a vital aid to saving lives, in fact, international regulations call for a medical guide to be carried on commercial ships that do not have a doctor on board, which includes most merchant ships in operation.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has published the International Medical Guide for Seafarers and Fishers, in collaboration with the International Maritime Health Association (IMHA) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The ICS medical guide consists of: the main medical guide, featuring the latest medical knowledge with clear and practical explanations of procedures throughout; a ship’s medicine chest detailing the medicines and equipment that should be carried on board, and 10 action cards that can be removed and carried anywhere on the ship to immediately assess an emergency medical situation.
The guide features an easy-to-use format for a non-medical professional to navigate and apply in a medical situation, by way of 3D visual aids, tables, charts, and assessments to help crew follow procedures correctly.
In developing this medical guide, ICS emphasised the importance of presenting the information in terminology that can be understood internationally due to the many nationalities that make up modern seafaring, and including the latest medicines that can be sourced in all regions of the world.
